Changes In Building Department Backed

SOMERS — Hoping to streamline service in the town's building department, the town is planning some staffing changes, including eliminating the zoning enforcement officer.

The town would cut the part-time zoning enforcement officer position and add a full-time administrative aide to take over clerical duties from the town planner, who would handle zoning enforcement, Selectman Phillips H. Roland told the board of finance Monday night.

The board of finance voted 4-1 to endorse the selectmen's changes in the building department.

Roland said the moves would improve the department's service to the public and end much duplication.

To help pay for the changes, town plans to raise permit fees for new buildings and increase sewer fees to raise $11,000.

Roland said the $16,750 to pay the administrative aide will not add to the town budget because $7,000 will be saved by cutting the zoning-officer position. The rest would be raised by increasing the fees. Some of the money generated by higher fees will be used to improve communications by adding a new telephone system, answering machine and fax machine in the department.

``By doing this we will be able to streamline and downsize the number of people down there,'' said First Selectman Robert Percoski. He said the planner now spends 25 percent of her time doing clerical work. ``I don't want to pay the planner $42,000 a year to make copies.''

However, Percoski he expected there would be resistance in the department to the change.

Roland disagreed. ``I don't expect that because many of the suggestions came from the [department's] staff,'' he said. ``I've had a very good initial response.''

In other business, the board voted unanimously to endorse the selectmen's 1996-97 budget proposal of $3.3 million, an increase of 2.3 percent over the current budget.

In January, the finance board asked the selectmen to keep any budget increase to under $75,000. The selectmen's budget came in with a $70,000 increase.

After action by the finance board, the town and school budgets will go to a public hearing and a town meeting. Then a referendum will be held, most likely in May. In 1994, it took four referendums to approve a budget.